US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday held separate meetings with the top diplomats of Thailand and Cambodia amid ongoing border tensions between the two Southeast Asian countries.
Rubio met with Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
The two countries signed a peace pact last October in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur in the presence of US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, following deadly border clashes.
Rubio said he met his Cambodian counterpart Prak "to discuss how our cooperation can advance safety and security, including through combatting scam centers and implementing the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords," according to a brief statement through US social media company X.
Separately, he said he had a "great meeting" with his Thai counterpart Sihasak.
"Advancing our 190+ year partnership with stronger defense ties, progress on reciprocal trade, and continued commitment to the peace accords brokered by President Trump," he wrote in a separate post after his meeting with Sihasak.
The meetings come amid border tensions between Cambodia and Thailand as former lodged yet another formal diplomatic protest against Bangkok on Wednesday, accusing Thai forces of "carrying out fresh road construction and laying barbed wire inside occupied Cambodian territory in Oddar Meanchey province," according to daily Phnom Penh Post.
However, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak has said Cambodia "closed the door on bilateral negotiations" over maritime and land boundary disputes by pursuing compulsory conciliation under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), according to Thai Enquirer.
Separately, Thai military has said its permanent fences along Cambodian border "will only be built in suitable areas where they will not create future boundary disputes."
"Temporary barriers will be used in more sensitive locations," according to Supreme Commander Gen. Ukrit Boontanon.
He also backed the Thai government's decision to delay land boundary talks with Cambodia amid maritime discussions under the UNCLOS.
